The BRICS alliance is officially adding 13 new nations as partner countries, according to an announcement at the BRICS summit. According to sources at the summit, the following nations have been invited to join the bloc as partners:
WIO News reporter Sidhant Sibal was the first to report the new list of BRICS partner countries. The 2024 summit has already issued plenty of headlines, including a glimpse at the bloc’s upcoming currency. One of the biggest reported topics of discussion on the BRICS summit agenda is expansion. At last year’s summit, several new countries were invited to join the bloc officially. It is unclear if these new BRICS partners will replace the expected membership invitations.
The BRICS bloc has enjoyed unprecedented growth over the last two years. It has sought to increase its presence on a global scale and disrupt the West’s dominant run. Throughout the last year, it has increased its de-dollarization efforts to lessen overall reliance on the US dollar. One major part of this has been bringing in more interested countries to support the bloc and overthrowing USD. As the year has progressed, more countries have traded with BRICS members without using the greenback, further boosting de-dollarization efforts. Now, with exclusive partner countries, the bloc looks to continue expanding its reach of influence around the world.
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BRICS Expands: Adds New “Partner” Countries
Furthermore, Thirteen countries are holding consultations on obtaining the status of a BRICS partner state, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov said to Tass Russian state media. Yury Ushakov noted, “because it will be necessary to discuss with them how ready they are for full-fledged or any other BRICS membership.”
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According to Ushakov, the issue of obtaining the status of a partner country is “a subject of consultations between delegations, it will be considered by the leaders” of the BRICS states, TASS also reported.
In addition, it is important to differentiate between BRICS members and BRICS partners. Unlike a BRICS partner, official members possess voting rights in bloc affairs; full participation in summits and meetings; and complete commitment and representation of the bloc. BRICS partners are only allowed selective engagement and participation in BRICS affairs; as well as remaining participants in other international initiatives without full commitment to BRICS. However, all of the new BRICS partners do have potential to become full members in the future. However, they are just not being inducted right away for certain reasons only known to the bloc.